Eggs for sale are pictured at a Metro cash and carry store in Kiev, Ukraine. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

A Future of Safer Thanksgivings: Using Algorithms to Predict Food Dangers
IBM Research is working on a data-driven, predictive approach that will identify systemic problems in food supply chains. The goal is to use algorithms to discover anomalies within massive amounts of data on plants, livestock, bacteria, and other genetic and biological organisms on farms and within other food supply environments. This algorithmic-based approach to food safety offers new advantages.

Want a More Peaceful, Secure World? Give Women Farmers a Seat at the Table
The US now has a global food and nutrition security strategy that puts women at center stage. This is important because the responsibility of feeding nations falls on the shoulders of women, often in places where, if the land itself isn’t hostile, her government may be. Women face innumerable institutional barriers to accessing land, credit, and education, making the difficult business of farming that much more challenging.

This UAE Startup Wants to Disrupt School Lunches, Using Healthy Food and Diet Education
Calling themselves “school food experts,” owners of Abu Dhabi-based food startup Slices have been serving up nutritious meals in over a dozen schools in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. They believe the future of school meals lies in not just providing healthy choices, but also helping children to take an interest in what they are eating. They provide co-curricular activities such as farm visits, cooking classes, and interactive seminars.

The Increasingly Popular Way to Aid the Needy in War-Torn Nations: Give Cash
An increasingly popular aid model is now being tested in Afghanistan, substituting money for donated goods. In response to crushing humanitarian need, declining security, and increasingly inaccessible populations of refugees and internally displaced people, the International Rescue Committee has started distributing $1 million in cash through local banks and cellphone providers to tens of thousands of needy people.